In response to her concerns about what she described as a history of ethics infractions, “including his wife,” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez called on Supreme Court Judge Clarence Thomas to “step down” or be subject to “impeachment.”
Clarence Thomas should resign.
If not, his failure to disclose income from right-wing organizations, recuse himself from matters involving his wife, and his vote to block the Jan 6th commission from key information must be investigated and could serve as grounds for impeachment.
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) March 29, 2022
His Wife
In her remarks about Ginni Thomas, the wife of the Supreme Court’s senior justice, Ocasio-Cortez echoed the sentiments of a slew of other Democratic colleagues, notably Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar.
The justice’s wife has been a lifelong conservative champion. A series of messages from her were just made public by a House committee probing the violence in the United States Capitol on January 6.
In the communications, Tom Thomas was depicted as urging former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, who was attempting to change the results of the 2020 election for the benefit of the former president, to keep fighting.
The progressive Democrat also called into question Clarence Thomas’ unwillingness to recuse himself from multiple election-related matters before the Supreme Court, including at least ten decisions involving the 2020 presidential election.
Following a case in which he was the only justice to dissent in an 8-1 ruling, Thomas has lately come under intense scrutiny.
The case in question involved an 8-1 ruling that allowed a House committee hearing investigating the Jan. 6, 2021 riot to acquire Trump-era White House documentation.
Following that, the committee on January 6 is weighing its options, including whether or not to summon Ginni Thomas for a consensual deposition to learn more about her backing for notorious lawyer Sidney Powell’s quest to overturn the 2020 election results.
“It might be possible to prove there are grounds for impeachment by looking more into what we know. That is something I firmly believe.” According to Axios, Ocasio-Cortez said this on Monday.
Rebuttal from the GOP
Following calls for Clarence Thomas to step down from specific cases because of his wife’s political involvement, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy fired back last week.
The congressional panel investigating the U.S. Capitol attack may seek to interview Virginia Thomas, a Republican activist and wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, a source said https://t.co/jIqH7KuO03 pic.twitter.com/4IhyPVF2ZT
— Reuters (@Reuters) March 29, 2022
“It’s his decision, based on the law. If you’ve spent any time studying the Supreme Court judge, you’ll know he’s one of the few who does his homework correctly,” McCarthy asserted.
“If he determines it does not comply with the Constitution, he will rule against it. If it’s the Constitution, then that’s exactly what he should be doing. He’s the one.”
Other Democrats have called on the high court justice to step down from cases involving the presidential election on Jan. 6 or future cases that involve the 2024 election.
This is on the assumption that Trump will run for president again, according to Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden, who said last week the high court justice should do so.
Supreme Court justices, in contrast to lower-court federal judges, are not constrained by the same rules of behavior. They are free to determine whether removal from office is the appropriate course of action in situations that may raise ethical questions.
